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I checked on Erowid and couldn't really find anything on about this, so I was wondering if anyone here knew the answer.

So I was wondering, does Psilocybin increase, decrease, or do nothing to the levels of Serotonin in the brain?If it does do something to the levels, is there any indication of the levels returning to normal? If so, how long does it take?

The reason I ask, is that someone said it 'changes' the levels. I haven't seen anything about this before, so I thought I should ask here.

Alright, well I've been trying to look for more info on this subject. I don't have a source on the increase in serotonin levels but I've read it sometime in the past, sorry about that.

I tried looking for articles that may include that but haven't found much. Found one article though in which it says that scientists have found that there are two major groups of serotonin receptors. The mushrooms act on both classes by blocking one and stimulating the other. (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/drugs/buyers/pharmacology/shrooms.html)

It's still not understood very well so a lot of what's out there is inconclusive ya know. I'll keep looking.

Well, thanx to the fucking gov't, little research will be done in the near to distant future on the boomers. I know for certain that mushrooms act on the receptors, but I haven't the foggiest of clues if it actually alters the level of serotonins.

On the bright side, I don't know of any ill effects of shrooming (other than bad gas or nausea, lol ) and most people feel the exact same as they did in a short amount of time. But for those few days after the trip, you deffinitely feel a renewed sense of well being, accomplishment, and satisfaction with your life. Might be attributed to increased serotonin, or perhaps lingering psychoactives. Only speculation on my half though, nothing to back it up with.

Locus, that site seems to be saying that "many of them [mushrooms] contain psychoactive compounds that can be extremely dangerous or lethal to the user. Some species contain toxins that produce fatal damage to the liver and kidneys." If they are implying that most psilocybin mushrooms cause damage to the liver and kidneys, that is simply untrue. Perhaps it's just meaningless propaganda.

I'm curious what the long term effects of these substances would be also. If they upregulate serotonin in the short run, do they have a long term effect? How do they increase serotonin levels? reuptake inhibition? increasing the production from substrate level? inhibition of enzyme breaking down serotonin?

Another question is how do serotonin levels affect the trip / effects of the mushrooms? For example is potency increased or decreased with high or low serotonin levels?

I would think it would always be best to have high serotonin levels in a set and setting context but it would be extremely interesting to see some studies on the state of neutotransmitters immediately prior to the trip and the changes that take place during.

--------------------"The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes."
- Marcel Proust

So if im reading the post right, psilocybin actually acts as a artificial serotonin giving you the same affects that naturally occurs as opposed to XTC which just depletes your levels of serotonin, and makes you drained and fucked up.